Lorenzo DALLA PORTA

RIDER NUMBER48

hometown
Prato, Italy

date of birth
22-Jun-97

nationality
Italian

number of races
19 (AS OF MAR 31ST 2017)

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Moto3 Rider

At the Czech GP in 2016 Mahindra Racing announced the signing of Lorenzo Dalla Porta, then battling for the Moto3 Junior World Championship. In 2017 the Italian steps up to the factory Aspar Mahindra team as the Junior World Champion, having already proven his speed on a number of World Championship circuits. 2016 saw the Italian called up to the World Championship for a number of replacement riders, proving his talent and aggression on each occasion.

Albert ARENAS

RIDER NUMBER75

hometown
Girona, Spain

date of birth
11-Dec-96

nationality
Spanish

number of races
14 (AS OF MAR 31ST 2017)

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Moto3 Rider

Albert Arenas will contest his first full World Championship campaign in 2017, but by no means is he lacking experience. The Aspar Mahindra rider was a front-runner during the 2015 FIM CEV Repsol Moto3 Junior World Championship, proving he can beat many of those he is now competing with. 2016 saw him split his time between the CEV and the Moto3 World Championship, replacing Alexis Masbou in the Peugeot MC Saxoprint team. No doubt this experience in the second half of the season will see the Spanish rider brawling in the top ten towards the end of 2017.

Manuel PAGLIANI

RIDER NUMBER96

hometown
Camposampiero, Italy

date of birth
16-Jul-96

nationality
Italian

number of races
6 (AS OF MAR 31ST 2017)

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Moto3 Rider

Double CIV Moto3 Champion – Manuel Pagliani will be a name familiar to fans of the Red Bull Rookies Cup, the Italian making an impact in the series with his hard and fast riding. Stability will be key for Pagliani is 2017, having moved between teams frequently in the past three years. Moto3 World Championship points in 2015, when riding for Team Italia, prove his ability without a doubt.

Marco BEZZECCHI

RIDER NUMBER12

hometown
Rimini, Italy

date of birth
12-Nov-98

nationality
Italian

number of races
5 (AS OF MAR 31ST 2017)

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Moto3 Rider

Part of the VR46 Academy, Marco Bezzecchi has already achieved huge success with Mahindra Racing – winning the 2015 Italian Moto3 Championship aboard an MGP30. A difficult year in the CEV in 2016 didn't deter the curly-haired Italian, flashes of speed and an undeniable talent earning him a spot in the CIP team for 2017. Like many of his fellow Mahindra riders, 2017 will be a year of learning for Bezzecchi, but with countless hours spent at Valentino Rossi's Ranch he will certainly be well prepared.

Career Highs

2014

Runner up in CIV Moto3

2015

Champion in CIV Moto3

2016

18th in CEV Junior World Champion – two wins in the CIV as a wild card

Jakub KORNFEIL

RIDER NUMBER84

hometown
Kyjov, Czech Republic

date of birth
8-Apr-93

nationality
Czech

number of races
128 (AS OF MAR 31ST 2017)

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Moto3 Rider

Jakub Kornfeil enters the 2017 season as the most experienced rider in the Moto3 World Championship, having raced in the lightweight class full-time since 2010. The Czech rider has proved to be a constant threat to the top ten in recent years and has produced a handful of podium challenges. A crowning moment in his racing career was no doubt in 2009, when he lifted the Red Bull Rookies Cup title to become the first Czech champion in the feeder series. There are few riders in the lightweight class who can boast the experience of Kornfeil, his knowledge a valuable asset to Mahindra Racing.

Patrik PULKKINEN

RIDER NUMBER4

hometown
HELSINKI, FINLAND

date of birth
14-Mar-01

nationality
Finnish

number of races
1 (AS OF MAR 31ST 2017)

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MOTO3 Rider

Mahindra Racing has a diverse selection of riders on the MGP3O in 2017, Finland's Patrik Pulkinnen a wonderful example of this. 'The Postman' spent two years racing in the Red Bull Rookies Cup before making the significant step up to the World Championship in 2017. As the youngest rider on the grid, there's little doubt his first season will be all about learning. With Finland set to host a MotoGP World Championship round in the near future, the young Finn is sure to be the centre of local media attention.

Mufaddal Choonia

Mufaddal is the Chief Executive Officer of Mahindra Racing SpA and leads all the activities of the Indian Moto3™ constructor in the ultra-competitive world of International Motorcycle Racing.

Involved in the project right from its inception, he has played the pivotal role in the entry of the Mahindra Group in the FIM MotoGP™ World Motorcycle Racing Championship and in the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship.

A professional with excellent global experience, Mufaddal has held various key responsibilities in marketing and sales across the automotive and financial services sectors of the Mahindra Group. He was a member of the core team that developed the iconic Mahindra Scorpio SUV. His educational qualifications include a graduation in Automobile Engineering and post-graduation in Business Management.

Michele Ciappina

hometown
VARESE

date of birth
5/17/1972

nationality
ITALIAN

Michele has been part of Mahindra Racing since 2012. He has over 15 years of experience in motorcycle racing, having worked for companies like BMW Motorrad, MV Agusta Motor Castiglioni Group and Husqvarna. With an extensive experience in production, manufacturing and quality control, his illustrious career has seen victories such as in the World Enduro Championship (E1 & E2 classes).

Davide Borghesi

hometown
VARESE

date of birth
4/25/1967

nationality
ITALIAN

Davide started his career at MV Agusta Motorcycle (1998) and was the project leader of the 4-stroke Husqvarna engines till 2002. He won several Enduro World Championship titles in different classes. He then moved to Aprilia Racing (Piaggio Group) as the Off Road Racing Activity Rep. As Technical Director he developed an innovative vehicle powered by a V-twin engine 450cc for Motocross, Enduro, Supermotard and Rally Raid.

He was Team Manager for the Factory Enduro Team with two GP wins during the 2009 season. He also led the Rally Raid program during the 2009-2011 seasons and picked up a few wins in the 450cc class at the Pharaohs Rally (Egypt). He also has a historical podium to his merit in Dakar 2010 during the first ever participation after three stage wins.

Moving from off-road racing, he went on to join Mahindra Racing in 2011. In his present role as the Mahindra Racing Head, Design and Development, Davide manages the Moto3™ project for Mahindra Racing. He is responsible for and aids the continuous development of the Mahindra MGP3O racing motorcycle.

Emanuele Martinelli

hometown
MILAN

date of birth
3/18/1965

nationality
ITALIAN

Emanuele, affectionately known as ‘Lele’, has had a long-standing career in motorcycle racing.

He began in 1989 at Yamaha, Italy where he built his experience in off-road racing at the Enduro, Motocross and Rally classes. He then moved to the MotoGP™ World Championship in 1993 with Yamaha. Lele has since worked with Honda, Aprilia and Ducati factory teams in the World Championship. An avid motor sport fan, he follows all categories including 125cc, 250cc, 500cc, World Superbike and MotoGP™. Beginning in 2012, he started working in the Moto3™ class and joined the Mahindra Racing family in 2013.

Andreas Leuthe

hometown
NEUHAUSEN AM RHEINFALL

date of birth
22/05/1964

nationality
GERMAN

Andreas has been in the Grand Prix since he was a rider in the 500cc/MotoGP™ class from 1985-1994. Following his rider days, he was Team Manager and Team Principal for the Italian 125cc Grand Prix project Italjet from 1998-2000. He has also served as rider manager and consultant to several motorcycle projects in MotoGP™ as well as Motorcycle industries.

Prior to joining Mahindra Racing, he had been working as Motorsport Manager in Suter Racing till 2014. At Mahindra Racing, he worked on the development of the new bike and was instrumental in setting up the collaboration between Aspar and Mahindra Racing. Since 2015, Andreas’ role has expanded to Head of Motorsport Strategies.

Filippo Agostini

hometown
ROMA

date of birth
5/11/1977

nationality
ITALIAN

Filippo comes to us with a wealth of experience. He has worked as a suspension technician in the MotoGP, SuperBike and SuperSport World Championships. He has also been associated with world-class brands such as Honda and KTM Racing.

Not only has he served as a crew member of a racing team, but also as a privileged rider himself. Between 2000-2003, he competed in the Winter Trophy 250.

Luigi Zucchi

hometown
LECCO

date of birth
12/11/1972

nationality
ITALIAN

Luigi has worked in several fields of engine R&D including fluid dynamic calculations, engine design and engine testing. He began his two-wheeler career with Moto Guzzi in 1997. He then moved to the MV Agusta Group and was involved in the development of Husqvarna off-road racing engines. In 2007, he began collaborating with the Piaggio Group and helped to develop the Aprilia RSV4 engine. He joined us in March 2016 as a senior engineer in engine design.

Paolo Carminati

hometown
TREVIGLIO

date of birth
7/17/1963

nationality
ITALIAN

Paolo began his career in motorsport back in 1988, as an F1 engine technician. He specialises in engine development and testing and has worked with both cars and bikes. His experience includes working in Superbike and Supersport for Honda and Yamaha, and then in F1 for Toyota. In 2011, he worked for a few years with Kawasaki in the World Supersport Championship as crew chief. During this time, he contributed to Kenan Sofuoglu’s maiden World Supersport title for Kawasaki. He joined us at the end of 2015 as lead engineer in Engine Development and Testing. Paolo firmly believes that with passion, commitment and dedication any team can achieve excellent results.